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Map of Europe |
Spring 2002 Volume 3 - Number 2
Leader in Focus
Denmark in the Chair: Small Country Faces Historic EU Challenges
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark
Denmark takes over the EU Presidency on July 1 at a time when the European Union faces a number of historic challenges, the first of which is to admit up to ten new members, mainly from Central and Eastern Europe. But the European Union also has to tackle a long list of essential internal reforms and strengthen its common external policies, especially toward Russia. Denmark also wants to strike a global deal between rich and poor countries on sustainable development.
Transatlantic Relations
The U.S. and Europe: Rivals as Much as Allies
Patrick Jarreau, Washington Bureau Chief, Le Monde
After a moment of emotional bonding immediately after the September 11 terrorist attacks, relations between the United States and Europe sharply deteriorated. Europeans complained of continuing American "unilateralism," of Washington's failure to consult them or accept their military help. More recently, the United States has appeared to pay more attention to European views, acknowledging it needs allies in the war against terrorism. But while their fates are linked, the United States and Europe will continue to compete for power and influence.
U.S.-EU Relations: Carrying on Despite the Mudslinging
Reginald Dale, Editor-in-Chief, European Affairs
Transatlantic relations are once again threatened by trade disputes and policy disagreements. But this time commentators on both sides of the Atlantic have launched unprecedented attacks on each other's societies and some of their core values. Those officially in charge of managing the relationship are trying to correct misconceptions and keep cooperation on track, without embarking on ambitious new bridges across the Atlantic.
European Integration
The Future of the EU: A View from Central Europe
Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland
With a full-scale debate on the future of European integration under way, it is important that candidate countries make their voices heard. Poland believes that substantial reforms must be enacted to bring the EU closer to its citizens, enhance its role in the world and make decision-making more effective. As it is enlarged, the EU should strengthen the traditional "community method" by greater use of majority voting, and reinforcing the presidency. But it is too early to define the EU's ultimate goals or endorse a federal Europe.
Special Report
Managing Europe's New Money
EU Economic Policy Coordination Must Be Strengthened
Pedro Solbes Mira, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs
The coordination of economic policies needs to be strengthened in both the 12-nation euro area and the wider European Union, in order to deal with the "spillover" effects of national policies on partner countries. The current complex system of policy coordination should be streamlined and simplified. Nevertheless, the system has generally worked fairly well so far, and EU economic and monetary policies have responded flexibly to changing economic conditions.
The EU Is Beginning to Embrace Economic Change
Rodrigo de Rato, Deputy Prime Minister of Spain and Minister of the Economy
The European economy is recovering from the latest slowdown, but its growth potential is still less than that of the United States, which has done better at extracting productivity gains from modern information technology. The EU is finally beginning to understand that it must engage in structural reform of its economy if it is to grow faster and create more jobs. But that will be easier said than done.
EU and U.S. Economies Are Becoming Ever More Integrated
Karen Johnson, Director, Division of International Finance, U.S. Federal Reserve System
The U.S. and EU economies are today marked by three salient features: the increasing integration of the global economy, the shift from industry to services in "industrial" countries and low levels of inflation. The global economy is becoming ever more interdependent, but it may also be more resilient. U.S. and EU policy-makers should be flexible in their thinking, work closely together and refrain from needlessly stifling risk-taking by entrepreneurs.
Europe Is Doing Well, But Needs Further Reforms
By Klaus P. Regling, Director General, Economic and Financial Affairs, European Commission
The United States, Europe and the rest of the world are coming out of a synchronized downturn, and short-term prospects for the international economy are bright. But Europe's growth potential remains too low. Over the medium term, as its population ages, the European Union needs to focus on three priorities: higher labor force participation and employment, stronger productivity growth and sustainable development.
Complex Steps to Financial Integration Will Bring Big Economic Benefits
Hervé Carré, Director, Economy of the Euro Zone and of the European Union, European Commission
The European Union has set ambitious aims for creating an integrated financial market by 2005, which looks like a tight deadline. The case needs to be made, to Ministers and to the general public, that financial integration is not just a matter of laws and regulations but a way to unleash major economic and financial benefits. Following the disastrous collapse of Enron, we must also rethink a wide range of issues, including corporate governance, accounting standards and the roles of auditors, financial analysts and credit rating agencies.
Europe Seeks Single Capital Market Equal to U.S.
George Möller, President, Federation of European Securities Exchanges
The Middle East
How War in the Middle East Roils Transatlantic Relations
Rupert Cornwell, Washington Bureau Chief, The Independent
As violence has escalated in the Middle East, so have mutual recriminations across the Atlantic. Europeans denounce the United States for writing Israel a blank check, while some American commentators have branded European support of the Palestinians "anti-Semitic." Deep historical and cultural forces underlie these divisions, but the two Transatlantic partners must try to overcome them.
Europeans Shrink from Applying "Bush Doctrine" to Iraq
Gary J. Schmitt, Executive Director, Project for the New American Century
While Europe strongly supported the United States in its war in Afghanistan, it has been most reluctant to endorse President Bush's broader "post 9/11" agenda, which includes pre-emptive strikes against countries that could seriously harm the United States and its allies. Iraq is the prime example of a state that is producing weapons of mass destruction and could give them to terrorists. The case for toppling Saddam Hussein is compelling, but the Bush Administration needs to do a better job of convincing its allies.
Defense and Security
2002 - A Crucial Year for NATO's Future
With the end of the Cold War and NATO's expansion across the former Iron Curtain, many have argued that it is becoming more a political than a military alliance. Others have pointed to NATO's lack of direct involvement in the War in Afghanistan and questioned whether it has much of a future. As a contribution to the debate over the Alliance's future, we publish extracts of speeches made at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year.
Extracts of Remarks by:
Paul Wolfowitz, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense; Rudolf Scharping, German Defense Minister; Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut) United States Senate; Antonio Martino, Defense Minister of Italy; and Antanas Valionis, Foreign Minister of Lithuania
European Challenges
Energy Policy: EU Must Take Charge of its Own Fate
Philippe Lemaître, Brussels Correspondent, European Affairs
With a worldwide war on terrorism under way and the Middle East in turmoil, EU leaders are finally beginning to worry about the security of their energy supplies and the risk of an oil price explosion. They are calling for common action. But it will be difficult to persuade governments to abandon entrenched positions and agree to cooperate with others on policies and operations that they are used to running themselves.
Opinion
We Must Fight Poverty, and Terrorism, with Both Trade and Aid
François Huwart, Secretary of State for Foreign Trade of France
The democratic nations must together fight both terrorism and its causes, which are poverty and ignorance. The crucial weapons against poverty will be trade and aid. France and the European Union have already achieved much on both fronts. But we must do much more to provide market access to the least developed countries and help them achieve sustainable development through aid and advice.
Book Reviews
Four Risks Facing the Trading System
Globalisation Under Threat: The Stability of Trade Policy and Multilateral Agreements.
Edited by Zdenek Drabek.
Reviewed by Sherry M. Stephenson
Still A Long Way To Go
Shaping a Credible EU Foreign Policy. By Steven Everts.
Reviewed by Reginald Dale
Letters to the Editor